Zdzisław Bziukiewicz

An amber crafter from the Puszcza Zielona

Amber is traditionally turned on a lathe, a machine tool rotating the work piece on its axis to process this stone. A reel is mounted with a pin to secure the amber nugget, which is coated in broken glass (it used to come from an oil lamp, now – from a standard light bulb). Zdzisław Bziukiewicz, one of the last amber crafters in Poland, has inherited his lathe from his father. It was his father, Stanisław, who taught him how to process amber, he did it for more than 70 years. While Mr Stanisław learned how to manufacture amber from the famous master, Wiktor Deptuła. Also Zdzisław’s mother, Marianna, tried her hand at turning amber. According to the family sources, amber crafting has been present in the family for generations.

In the 1960s, there were deposits of amber fossil discovered in the Ostrołęka power plant. It was kept in secret from local artisans but the news spread quickly. It was there where Zdzisław went with his father as a 4-year-old boy. Stanisław Bziukiewicz would look for this raw material all over the Kurpie region, and this is how everyone knew him. Zdzisław Bziukiewicz looks for amber in area in the same way, he mines it himself and buys from the locals who have discovered amber during their earth works. Mr Zdzisław describes communing with a lump of amber as an amazing feeling.

– I’m taking something that looks like a dirty stone and I immediately know that it’s not a stone, but amber. It’s warm, it has a characteristic rough surface and it’s lighter than stone, he describes. He is the only one to make amber kierce and pająki. He recreates old Kurpie designs, like pasyjki. But he usually turns various beads of different shapes: balls, leaves, plums from light to dark colours.

Mr Zdzisław has not only continued the amber crafting tradition of his family over the years, but also popularised the amber crafting of Kurpie: he has held shows and classes in community centres, schools and museums, at first – at his house (from 2003), and since 2009, in his private/own Museum of Kurpie.

Works by Zdzisław Bziukiewicz and his parents can be found in many Polish museums and galleries.

The artist has participated in numerous competitions, and appeared in several TV shows, for example, “Dzień dobry w sobotę” (“Good morning on Saturday”).

He cooperates with various institutions on a regular basis. You can find him on art fairs and participate in his workshops or admire his works at exhibitions.

He is also the creator and owner of a regional website where you can find a lot of news about the Kurpie region. In 2011, the website was awarded in the “Europa w każdej gminie” National Competition as the only private website, it was also awarded in the “e- warszawiacy, czyli Syrenka
w sieci” competition for the best Masovian websites.

In gratitude for his involvement is social activities and promotion of Polish culture, Zdzisław Bziukiewicz was awarded the Silver Cross of Merit, the award of Ostrołęka Starosta and the Special Award of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage – for Lifetime Achievement. He is a holder of the Honour Badge, “Distinguished contributions to the Polish culture” of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage.